Beverage infusion bag



Aug. 8, 1967 H. D. ABBEY BEVERAGE INFUSION BAG Filed June 16, 1965 FIG!FEGZ:

IN VENTOR. HYMAN D. ABBEY ATTORNEYS terial employed. This is a UnitedStates Patent 3,334,803 BEVERAGE INFUSION BAG Hyman D. Abbey, 69 VineRoad, Larchmont, N.Y. 10538 Filed June 16, 1965, Ser. No. 464,402 2Claims. (Cl. 22953) This invention relates to the brewing of beveragesby infusion, and more particularly to beverage infusion bags used forthat purpose.

This application has claims to the beverage infusion bag. Acontinuation-in-part application has claims directed to the method ofmaking the perforated film.

The general object of the invention is to improve beverage infusionbags, typically and mainly tea bags. However, the bags also may be usedfor coffee, and in an enlarged size may be used as the filtering mediumin coffee urns.

More particular objects are to provide a beverage infusion bag which islow in cost, improved in appearance, and which avoids staining ordiscoloration in use. This object is fulfilled by using a solid plasticfilm instead of a porous paper. The solid film is impermeable, but inaccordance with my invention is perforated with a very large number ofminute holes which are formed by piercing with a sharp point so that nochad is produced. An ancillary object therefore is to avoid theproduction of chad.

A further object concerns the method of providing the vast number ofperforations required, as a part of the process of making the infusionbag, and at minimum cost.

To accomplish the foregoing general objects, and other more specificobjects which will hereinafter appear, my invention resides in theinfusion bag and its manufacture, as are more particularly described inthe following specification. The specification is accompanied by adrawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view bodying features of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a section drawn to enlarged scale and taken approximately inthe plane of the line 2-2 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a schematic view drawn to small scale and explanatory of themethod of forming the perforations.

Referring to the drawing, and more particularly to FIG. I, theillustrated infusion bag 12 is a tea bag which may be of usualdimension, say two inches square. It may be fabricated in any knownfashion, and in the present case a rectangular piece of material isfolded at the bottom 14 and heat sealed around three edges as indicatedat 16, 18 and 20, with a measured quantity of tea confined in theresulting bag. An identification tag 22 is connected by means of asuitable string or thread 24, the latter being secured to the bag in anyknown manner, as by use of a small aluminum staple 26.

Thev tea bag may be conventional except for the maplastic film 28 (FIG.2) which has been perforated with a large number of minute perforations30. The plastic is selected to be odorless, taste less, non-toxic andheat sealable. Good examples are polyethylene film, and vinylidenechloride-vinyl chloride copolymer film a well-known commercial form ofwhich is sold under the trandemark Saran.

The film preferably has a thickness ranging from say 0.0005 to 0.001inch, but could be thicker. It has about 1,000 or more holes per squareinch. Although the holes are tiny, to prevent escape of tea dust, theyare so numerous that the area of the holes preferably occupies about 20percent or more of the area of the film. An area of 22 percent resultsin an infusion rate comparable to most presently used tea bags. Agreater hole area increases the infusion rate, but an area greater than40 pershowing a tea bag em- 3,3 34,803 Patented Aug. 8, 1967 cent wouldbe greater than wanted or needed. A number of holes greater than 3,000would be difiicult to provide with tapered pins and while still keepingthe holes small enough to hold back tea dust.

The holes are formed by piercing the film with a sharp point, so that nochad or scrap is formed. The usual punch and die method would form chad,and incomplete removal of the scrap or chad would lead to laterdifficulty on immersion of the tea bag, because of release of chad orscrap in the beverage.

One method of perforating the plastic material economically and withoutthe formation of chad may be described with reference to FIG. 3 of thedrawing. In that figure the plastic web 32 is being rolled onto a core34 on a drive shaft 36. As the material is rolled it is penetrated byrolling contact with a drum 38 having sharp needles 40 disposed aboutand projecting from the said drum 38.

Drum 38 rolls in contact with the web at the roll 42. It is urgedagainst the roll in any suitable fashion, here schematically suggestedby arms 44 pivoted at 46 and urged downward by compression springs 48.

In one example the needles are spaced say one-eighth inch apart andprotrude say three-siXteent-hs of an inch. In this length they taperfrom a sharp point to a diameter of say 0.055 inch. The roll 48 itselfwould produce only 64 holes per square inch, but by piercingsimultaneously through many layers of film at the roll, and recognizingthat the distribution of the holes is random, there then are produced alarge number of holes. For example, by penetrating sixteen layers therewould be 1,024 holes per square inch, instead of 64. If the film has athickness of say 0.001 inch the needles then would be applied withsufiicient pressure to pierce to a depth of 0.016 inch. If the film hasa thickness of say 0.00075 inch the needle pressure would be adjusted topenetrate to a depth of 0.012 inch in order to penetrate sixteen layers.

It will be understood that as the web is rolled up each increment of theweb is penetrated sixteen separate successive times, and because of thegrowth in diameter of the wound roll, there is a random displacement ofone set of perforations compared to another, thus producing the desireddense array of closely spaced holes. At the end of the web the roll 42may be driven some extra turns if it be desired to avoid discarding thelast few turns of web.

Because the holes are formed by a sharp point they are formed withoutchad. The perforating operation may be combined with some other neededoperation which anyway involves rewinding, including for example, theslitting operation of the film manufacturer.

The extent of perforation is related to the time required for infusionof the beverage, and the number and area of holes suggested aboveprovides a relatively rapid infusion of tea. In any case, thequantitative values have been given solely by way of example, and notintended to be in limitation of the invention.

It is believed that my improved infusion bag and the advantages thereofwill be apparent from the foregoing detailed description. Plastic filmssuch as polyethylene and vinylidene chloride-vinyl chloride copolymerare not discolored by the dye action of tea leaves, as is the case withordinary tea bags. The film used may be transparent, or if preferred maybe either a translucent or opaque white film. It has greater wetstrength than the material used in ordinary tea bags; it is readily heatscalable; it is low in cost; and it is odorless and tasteless.

It will be understood that while I have described the beverage infusionbag in a preferred form, changes may be made without departing from thescope of the invention, as sought to be defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A beverage infusion bag made of a plastic film which has beenperforated with a large number of minute perforations, said plastic filmbeing selected to be odorless, tasteless, non-toxic and heat sealable,said film having from about 1000 to about 3000 holes per square inch,said holes being formed by piercing with a sharp point so that they haveno scrap or chad, and occupying about 20% or more of the area of thefilm.

2. A beverage infusion bag made of a plastic film which has beenperforated with a large number of minute perforations, said plastic filmbeing polyethylene or vinylidene chloride-vinyl chloride copolymer, saidfilm having a thickness of from 0.0005 to 0.001 inch, said film havingfrom about 1,000 to 3,000 holes per square inch, and constituting about20% to 40% of the area of the film,

4 said holes being formed by piercing with a sharp point so that theyhave no scrap or chad.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 22,490 5/ 1944 Rambold 229-532,115,122 4/1938 Prudden 206-0.5 2,817,596 12/1957 Schur 9977.l

10 3,085,608 4/1963 Mathues 150-1 JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner.

D. M. BOCKENEK, Assistant Examiner.

1. A BEVERAGE INFUSION BAG MADE OF A PLASTIC FILM WHICH HAS BEENPERFORATED WITH A LARGE NUMBER OF MINUTE PERFORATIONS, SAID PLASTIC FILMBEING SELECTED TO BE ODORLESS, TASTELESS, NON-TOXIC AND HEAT SEALABLE,SAID FILM HAVING FROM ABOUT 1000 TO ABOUT 3000 HOLES PER SQUARE INCH,SAID HOLES BEING FORMED BY PIERCING WITH A SHARP POINT SO THAT THEY HAVENO SCRAP OR CHAD, AND OCCUPYING ABOUT 20% OR MORE OF THE AREA OF THEFILM.